Benjamin Vasquez- Journal Entries

[benvaz722]

• Name of Game: Fez
  Game author (If known): Phil fish
  Game Studio: Polytron Corporation
  
  Original Platform & control mechanism: pc and mouse keyboard
  
  Control mechanism you used
  Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
  I used the same mechanisms that it was designed for.
  
  Describe game play and mechanics
  From the photos in the steam page I did not expect much from this game. I thought that it was a simple 2d side scroller with a pixel art style. Once I started playing, I was hooked. The controls are a bit odd as I am used to the W, A, S, and D to be the locomotion controls, but this game uses the arrow keys as its way to move the character. Space bar is still the jump but when pressed the up arrow also press it allows the player to hang on ledges. This allows for interesting climbing mechanics. Possibly what makes this game stand out from the rest is the use of shifting focus from a 2d world to a 3d world. I was shocked when it first happened. This forces the player to think and move around a new dimension while solving puzzles and collecting the 8 cube shards.
  
  Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
  I played so many 2D games with a pixel art style that I didn’t think much of it. However, in games, the world seems so colorful and active. I would think that the mechanic to shift into different views would ruin the illusion of the world, but it complements and shifts very well. As an animator I particularly like the way the character moves about. I love the drag that the animator placed on his big head when he breaks to turn or when entering a door. The main character oozes with personality to just being a goofy boy in an adventure. The designers found a way to fit the 3d mechanic into everything in the game. One of my pleasant surprises is the map menu being in also 3d. It was pleasant to look at the space background to the golden bands that surround the completed levels. I also like how the game allows you to see a preview of the level so you don’t have to keep going through random doors you have already been in.
  
  What made it fun?
  What made the game fun is it combination of world and puzzle mechanics. The world is believable and well lived in. It feels like the main character and the side characters have lived in that village their whole life. Their houses are personalized, and they each have their own personality. The other interesting part is the introduction to the main mechanic of the game. It was ominous to see what we in 3D recognize as a cube, but it is such a foreign concept to this 2D being. It was like seeing an eldritch horror from a dimension we couldn’t comprehend. This, along with the game breaking and glitching out taking us back to the main menu, made it feel all too real. As if the game was reaching from the land of fantasy into our real world. The puzzle aspect is quite fun also. I have a soft spot for puzzle games because games such as Shoot ’Em Ups or first-person shooter games end up getting repetitive and frankly boring. When it comes to puzzle games, the creator must think of creative ways to stump and provide a challenge to people he has never met. This results in a creative influx of world building and level management.
  
  Now that you’ve played it, why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
• I feel like the way that this game fits in the evolution of games is how the game represent the accumulation of history of games. For example the the game central art style is similar to early arcade with 2D 8 bit characters. This is also helped by the title screen music and set up to be similar to an arcade. Move to the era of personal computers and consoles being able to handle 3D worlds better and when the game showed the game crashing it exhibited a bios and start up sequence similar to being on a console or a personal computer. The other point I want to emphasize is the time that Fez came out. In a world filled with established triple A companies and the fan base increasingly craving more realistic games. FEZ was exciting change of pace to the point that it received inde awards before the game has even been finished. It reflects to the now where the buyers are getting tired of the large corporations and instead are buying cheap fun to play games off of steam. Over all I really did enjoy this game and it world. Sadly I only had time to get through the first levels, but for sure is a game I plan on eventually playing fully.
• How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
  5 stars!

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: under dark defense
Game author (If known) : couldn’t find
Game Studio: liberalDust

Original Platform & control mechanism
phone game

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
I played it how exactly it should have been used

Describe game play and mechanics
The game is a strategy tower defense. Your goal as a player is to attain the best combination of heroes, weapons, towers, pets, support mercenaries, structures, props, background, and artifacts. You do this by buying them in a shop, through passes, events, or beating levels. The main game is about defeating waves of monsters and protecting your campsite. Differentiating in heroes, weapons, and towers will give the player different experiences and freshen up the gameplay. The heroes have different abilities and rarities. For example, the main hero “wondering soul” have the ability to move around after the player dies. This ability comes in handy because there are towers that need the player to stand on it to activate. Weapons have many abilities and can be ither close or long range. The towers can have different synergies to each other to maximize damage to the waves. Some towers focus on statis effects, damage, splash damage, and buffs for your towers.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The game is frankly quite charming. The cute characters mixed with the scary and weird looking monsters gives it a fun appeal. What continues with these emphases is the setting of levels being dark and gritty. The Heros designs give them so much personality. There is a dwarf character that looks like there is nothing going on in his mind. An elf girl who is sassy and pouts while waiting for you to start a level. The main hero who looks like he is ready to take on everything. All the personality was able to be read in just the way they are designed and posed. The towers have personality too as some are just other characters standing on a slab instead of just mechanical. For example, there is a goblin guy with raised sword on each hand and large smile. From just the design the player knows he has the ability to strike the enemies twice. A lot of “show not tell” with the art and design.

What made it fun?
What made the game fun is its personalization and art of the game. The various paths for the player to get stronger allow the player to customize their experience in the game. One way is selecting which hero to use during your game play. I personally like using “agni” which is an anthropomorphic iron pot that has the ability to spawn in with a cooking pot. When the pot is placed, and the player stands near it, it will spawn in some experience orbs that are used to get a new tower every single time the player levels up. Pairing the pot with a mystery tower, which gives the player a random tower at different levels with the cost of waiting 40 seconds, allows me to farm experience and maximize the amount of towers I use. The main menu is a camp site where the player can decorate with items that can buff the player and further support their play style. The other thing that is appealing is the art style. It is so unique, stylize, and charming. I find the characters fun and make me want to experiment and play with them. Each one has abilities that are suited to their personality. The weapons look cool that I want to play with different styles. Overall, the game is extremely fun.

Now that you’ve played it, why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
This game was released in May 2024 with 97,000 downloads in the first month and currently sits at 1.7 million. It is highly rated at 4.48 out of 5 and I think that I can reflect that statement. My first experience with games is playing on an iPod and so it is incredible to see how the development of phone games has changed over the years. This game feels like it is a result of years of trial and error of years of phone games being in development. One example is the option of different passes the player could buy to receive more rewards. However, players hate paying for passes but feel like they have too in order to fully enjoy the game. As a result, Under Dark provides other ways to advance without forking up cash. Another thing I enjoy is the games use of Ads. Nowadays there is no place anyone can enjoy without being bombardment with companies trying to take your money. I understand the developers need to make money and its why players tolerate the Ads. However, too many Ads for just doing simple actions, to play, to win, or just taking up the space will eventually kill a game. I appreciate how Under dark will only use Ads if the player wants something in return. This plays with the previous idea that the game allows other options to advance quickly than pay the pass.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate Five stars

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: Super Mario Galaxy Game author (If known) : Shigeru Miyamoto
Game Studio: Nintendo

Original Platform & control mechanism

Wii and its associated remotes

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?

I used a switch. I played the with the original and there is fun around having to shake the remotes when playing. It could still be done on the switch but it is easier to play on handheld mode.

Describe game play and mechanics:

The game paly is a 3d platformer and puzzle game. Like most Mario worlds type of games, the game play is focused on visiting different levels and collecting stars in order to proceed to other levels. Each level is able to be replayed so that the player can find hidden stars, allowing the level to be viewed at a different perspective. However, what makes Super Mario Galaxy different is its gravity mechanic allowing Mario to circle around these planets providing more 3d depth and fun puzzles that use this mechanic. Mario is able to move through obstacles well through a better polish locomotion system that allows Mario to flip and summer sault. The way the nun chucks controllers are used is by having the left controller as the main control and the right to be used to collect star bits or launch them towards enemies. Using two separate controllers allows the game to be also multiplayer.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design

The game cartoony design allows the developers to not be constrained to the boundaries of real life. This is especially important as the game relies on galaxies that are extremely creative and logically it doesn’t make any sense. Of course, Mario and the other characters are polished and more updated. The Lumas design are a simple concept executed perfectly. They are stars shape and some how also round with large black eyes… just adorable. Rosalina character design looks ethereal with her being one of the tallest characters and depicted with a shine around her, yet still looking like a believable princess. What I liked most is the boss character designs. For example, the first boss the player faces (Dino piranha) is a fun take on the piranha plant. The character is large, and the player has to use the mechanics they learned to defeat him. The tail of dino is designed into the character but is also used as a mechanic to defeat him. Overall, it’s a nice-looking game with so much creativity.

What made it fun?

What made the game fun is its puzzle platformer. The puzzle platformer function is the bed rock of the entire game. If the gravity mechanic wasn’t figured out and polished, then there wouldn’t be any Super Mario Galaxy game. Next is how the designers build the galaxies of the different levels using the gravity mechanic. Some of my favorite worlds are the water worlds that allow the player to pop up on different sides like a floating bubble. Or worlds that spin and that player must counteract to jump across gaps. Using space, they allow Mario to doge asteroids or go inside different planets in order to pop up on the other side. The fun designs and colors of the characters stimulate the brain with excitement and players chase around collecting shiny star bits. Finally, I think Nintendo mastered the sharable aspect of what makes a game. My sisters and I would have fun as she would help me pass levels by shooting down enemies and collecting bits. I would do the same in return. Once one died then we would switch places. Limited games forced us to learn how to share so we all could share in the enjoyment.

Now that you’ve played it, why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?

Growing up, the story of how Super Mario Galaxy was developed was always brought up as a fun fact about the game. In every video I saw there was a mention on how the idea grew. I find it interesting how a tech demo in the game cube was the inspiration of the main mechanic. I remember being amazed about how Nintendo space world demo was that idea that started a great game. Miyamoto saw this and wanted it to make an expansive Mario game from it. The game became one of the most successful WII games selling 12.80 million world wide. The game even spun off into a sequel that addressed the only issue that players had with the game. The game main mechanic as difficult to predict and it frustrated players. I’m glad the Nintendo was able to fine tune their game with a sequel. Another great thing about the game is how much content you are getting for the price of the game. Miyamoto want to make sure it was expansive and it did feel like there was so much to do. There were so many levels and with in each level contained more stars to find. All in all this game is going to continue to bring great memories for generations.
How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate Five stars

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: Ark: Survival Evolved
Game author (If known) : Craig Brown and Kayd Hendricks

Game Studio: Studio Wildcard

Original Platform & control mechanism
The game was as a demo in pc but was released in PlayStation 4.

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
I played both using the controller and the PC. I would say the controller is quicker to learn once we get used too, but there is some quality of life option that could only be enjoyed in PC.

Describe game play and mechanics
The player spawns in an unknown world and with no recollection how they got there. However, there is a implant on their wrist that allows them to craft objects, inventory, and modify their abilities. This is how the story of ark starts and the rest of the journey is up to the player. Most player experience goes a little something like this… Wake up, get notice by a raptor, die, spawn in, try to get stuff back, get notice by a T-rex, die, and the cycle continues. Once the player makes a thatch hutch and a bed, they are ready to play the game! … unless the player gets stuck in the cycle again. This cycle of randomly unfairly dying is so prolific that the community coined a phrase called “getting Arked”. Once the player gives up on getting their items back and decides to start over, they can begin taming dinos in order to help them with gathering resources. The late game is once you have your base fully set up and have access to T-Rex saddles. Then the player can begin working towards battling the bosses and ascending. Ascending allows the player to access more points for their character and unlocks high TEK engrams that make the best equipment in the game.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The game is design to be as hyper realistic as possible. With the right equipment the land scape in the game comes to life. The ocean and beaches at spawn are stunning and players could just get lost in their forests. The dinosaurs are done in a way that happily plays with the imagination of the player. The player can sense the power of these amazing beasts when riding or encountering them. The animation is done in a way that I can feel their powers when they walk around. One of the ways that this is broken, however, is when the player pumps the speed stat, and the dinosaurs start to jitter around. That brings me to the most unrealistic part of the game which is the character designer. There is no way to make characters look good, but players grew to love making these characters as ugly as possible. It does have some fun looking customizable that breaks realism too, but it is also part of the charm of the game.

What made it fun?
This game starts off as a fun survival game where you get to build bases and tame dinosaurs. But it goes deeper than that. The lore and the story of Ark is found in dossiers in which the player could collect and gain an experience bonus. It could also be enjoyed without knowing the story at all. Depending on how the player likes to play, there is many ways to enjoy the game. If the player is looking for some action pack high stress environment, then they could join PVP servers. Where tribes of players build fortress and tame/rase strong dinosaurs to then raid or go to war with other tribes. I like the challenge of surviving and beating the ark by defeating its many bosses. I don’t need players constantly fighting me, so in this instance PVE is the best for me as destroying and killing one another is not permitted. There are different servers that provide rule limits, mods, and role playing that could fit how a player likes to play. What keeps players returning is the burden of responsibility and building something great with your friends. The game is run with a real time clock, so everything takes time to make and build. Some even running to a week of real lifetime. Especially playing on a server, the player would have to make time in order to feed dinos, maintain farms, and to tame dinos. It is only possible to maintain a base for a long time if the player has a tribe of people to help.

Now that you’ve played it, why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
The game is at the heart of every little child who wonders what it is like to have a pet dinosaur. That is what drew me to the game in the first place. It is why the player base the grew around the game stuck with it despite all its issues. It was unlike anything that was made before. As a player looking for a dino-raising sim, there were very few and underwhelming games before the creation of Ark. The game blew up when it was released in early access in 2015. Despite its bugs, limited dinos, and no-win state, the players fell in love with its possibilities. The game was then released on the PS4 in 2016 despite not being completed. The community that grew around this game became close as they shared in their suffering in game glitches and just plain unlucky actions. It grew to point that people started making mega tribes that span into different servers attempting to spread and rule. People started to exchange in game goods for real life money for just a leg up. Honestly this market and monopolizing is the most toxic part of playing the game. Now Ark faces more controversy than ever with Wild Card failing to commit to release dates, price gouging Ark II, making an unnecessary Ark ascended game that is just the same game but in UE5, and Wild Card parent company (snail games) abusing their power against players. I don’t know how long hope will last in the Ark community, but it’s waning. Soon people will have to let go of such a beloved game.
How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate Five stars

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: Beat Saber Game author (If known) : Ján Ilavský, Vladimír Hrinčár, and Peter Hrinčár

Game Studio: Beats Games

Original Platform & control mechanism
Release on windows then PS4 vr

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
I used Meta Quest 3. Is about the same experience as you don’t need buttons just VR tracking of the controllers. Maybe a bit easier as the meta quest is an on board system, so no need of all those cables.

Describe game play and mechanics
The game is played using VR head seat and its associated controllers. There are different modes to be played. For example, it has a single, multiplayer, and a story mode. I played story mode, which has a set of levels the player has to play through in order to beat the game. The game is simple in its concept as it involves the player slicing through cubes in the direction of where the cube is pointing. There are some unique cubes to add verity that the player can slice in any direction. The game has some obstacles too, so the player doesn’t stay stagnant. One of these obstacles is the red bars requiring the player to doge left or right, duck down, or jump. The complexity arrives in trying to maintain the beat, position of the cubes, and being aware of the direction the arrows are pointing. Finally, the game has downloadable content that the player could buy so they could play their favorite songs.
Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
I don’t think that the art and design is complex, but I think it is done quite effectively. The designs revolve around neon lights. Everything you see in the game is surrounded by neon. There is something about neon that bring excitement in a persons mind. It feels futuristic and colorful. This is especially true because the player is holding these light sabers. The backgrounds are voids or if they do have a design, they only have simple geometry with neon lights. Compare to other rhythm games.. this is quite disappointing. I believe that it helps out the game as it allows the player not to focus on the game objects. As designers, even the art is an aspect to help the gameplay for the player enjoyment. Too many stimuli would take and distract the player. The background use of simple designs is significant because the shape language points to the center and leads the eye of the player to where they should be focusing.
What made it fun?
What made the game fun is its light sabers, rhythm, and dynamic movement. After growing up watching star wars almost everyone has a light saber fantasy. This game allows to player to play out that fantasy by hoping down wave after wave of blocks. The bright lights of saber makes it stand out. I find the erythema of the game most of because I could be stuck just flicking my wrist and getting points. When I got in the with the rhythm, I found my self dancing along and performing cool moves. Lastly is the dynamic movement that forces the player to move around instead of just sitting down and moving your arms. There are different block places that forces the player to move in order to reach them. There is some blocks that are in the opposite side on which the corresponding color is and forces the player to twist. In combination of theses there is what make this game so much fun. They play into each other for example the light saber is the main mechanic in which the player interacts with objects. Staying in rhythm allows the player to feel that light saber fantasy more. With the dynamic movement the player leans and exaggerate into that fantasy. Overall I had a lot fun with the game.
Now that you’ve played it, why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
The game fits the evolution of games as it feels as a successor to what the connect and the Wii were trying to accomplish. All I could think about is how much my arms ache after playing the game , but I couldn’t get enough. Being on the meta quest allows the player to move about more than being restricted to the length of its cables. The fan base that grew around this is also quite interesting as streamers would set up a green screen and stream them selves dancing and staying in rhythm. This also brings me to the belief that it is a natural progression on the dancing trying rhythm games. As so much more dynamic action can be performed. It’s like have dance dance revolution at home. This is aided more with the meta quest use of camera that is able to track the players movement. Finally this bring me to idea that this game is a stable in VR arcades. The first time I played it was in a VR arcade. The grow and prevalence of the these arcades pared with the fun games in VR feels like it brought back some of the excitement of going to an arcade with a big box dedicated to that game. Over all I had a lot of fun with it.
How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate Five stars